Practical Spirituality – Rahim on Human Nature

Meaning: O Lord with the large body, curved trunk and the brilliance of crore (10 million) suns, please free my work from all obstacles, forever.

The above mentioned mantra is a prayer dedicated to Lord Ganesha, son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. It is believed that chanting this mantra before beginning any activity, ritual or puja keeps away the negative energies from the surroundings. (For more mantras refer to Gayatri and other mantras)

Today, I begin my blog on the teachings of Hinduism that can be applied in the practical day to day life. These are easy to follow and have been written by some of the finest poets of Indian history based on their life experiences. I will be starting with the Dohas written by Rahim. Dohas are a form of self contained rhyming couplet in poetry.

Born on December 17, 1556, Abdur-rahim Khankhana popularly known as Rahim, was a minister and advisor in the Mughal kingdom of Akbar. Being a spectator of both the sword and shrewd politics played in a kingdom, his writings are about the fine line between the right and the wrong, the white and the black, caste and creed and above all relationships in human life. Insightful, witty and informative, these are some adjectives that describe his work. As a medium for expressing his thoughts he used the languages Brij and Avadhi, though he was well versed with Hindi, Urdu, Farsi, English and French. He died in 1627, aged 73.

I will start with some of his writings and their translations that highlight the essentials of human behavior. The works below are an example of his knowledge about the right and the wrong habits that people inculcate and then generally progress on to become their nature. He has highlighted the importance of various qualities like patience, will power etc. by either taking God as his support or through exceptional illustrations and examples.

The innate nature of a person

Translation: A stone will drown in the water and go till the river bed but it would not still soften. In the same manner, it is equally difficult for a person to act intelligent when he is not, no matter how much knowledge is imparted to him.

By this illustration Rahim concludes, that is indeed very difficult to change a person’s innate nature and tendencies.

Charity is the greatest nobility

Translation: Rahim says, a person who begs has a dead conscience but the greater truth is, the person who turns away from a beggar, and refuses to give anything, never had a conscience existing within him.

By this illustration he concludes, that helping people in need is the noblest deed in this world.

Patience and Balance

Translation: Rahim compares happiness and sorrow with dusk and dawn. Therefore, these should not affect the temperament of a human towards extremes. It is the weak, who let the situation take over whereas the strong would remain calm and patient, no matter how the time changes. They have a balanced attitude and approach in life.

By this illustration he ponders over qualities like patience and balance in our lives

The power of strong character

Translation: Rahim says, a thousand snakes may be coiled around the sandalwood tree in cool marsh lands – but the fragrance of the sandalwood remain as sweet as ever. Similarly, people who have a strong character remain unaffected by bad company.

By this illustration he explains the importance of will power in a person’s life.

About the author

I hope you enjoyed the perspective of a new guest author on this blog. Please extend a warm welcome to Ms. Kritika by leaving her your thoughts in the comment section. I look forward to publishing many more articles from her. – Editor.

Hi, my name is Kritika and I am doing my graduation in Mass Communication from International School of Business and Media situated in Pune, India. I aspire to become a journalist and this blog is my first step in the journey towards my destination. One of my favorite subjects is poems and writings of the Indian poets back from the Mughal Era and before. Their writings are not only religious or spiritual but also have a great sense of practicality.

It's realy excellent,there are so many poets and writers like mahadevi verma,jayshanker prasad,agyey,kabier,dharmveer bharti,shivmangal singh suman,amrita preetam,and many more who wrote on mass psychology,of human behavior and mentality generated by social customs in humans and there societies.
You did and doing excellent.God bless you.

keep it up , not the best of the work but certainly the right track to walk on the path of reality , history , people , experiences , casts , education , awairness and humor …..guess the person who has the combination of al this is the valued author or journalist…..you are goin gr8

In spite of the fact that we live in this time and age, values and compassion are ageless and timeless, and the poet's way of telling this with simple examples is so typical of Rahim and Kabir. You have done a good study of the same, and interesting to note that you have do that in so tender an age. Great indeed. May you do well in your search for deeper meaning of life.

Dear Brothers & Sisters, let us all unite together and wake up from this dark millenium and do the simple things in life, such as loving every one unconditionally, accepting every one and forgiving every one.
May we all have PEACE & HARMONY to free our selves from the cycle of life and death. SADA!

Dear Soul,
I really appreciate the feelings in you that have led you to place these valued articles. However, in this Kaliyuga(period of DARKNESS), it has to be like this. We feel good when we hear these great teachings as all the souls are pure by default. So, when we come across thoughts of such nature, we only admire these, but do not have the inner strength to acquire these teachings within oneself. We, after several births and rebirths got ourselve covered with the vices(VEEKARS), which has depleted us of our inner power. As you are dealing with Mass Communication, I would suggest you to contact the BRAHMA KUMARIS(BK), which will be very helpfull in your path. BK have good website & is spread all over this world. They have centers in every corner of our country.

hi Kritika, appreciate ur attempt!! i share the same compassion for poets and their style of delivering knowledge to society… but sometimes, being born in this age i wonder how much does human practice compassion, devotion and be humble??? it's just impossible, even if one desires to follow them..!! not because we have gone selfish to zenith, but because the rules of the games have changed….today, the game of life is practical than being just sufficient; we want more from life than just nirvana or do i say, our perception and definition of nirvana has changed with time… its not that i deny the poets and saints of early age; i only feel the urge of new age saints and poets to guide us to a compassionate life…guess that what means "Kalki" avatar, who is yet to take his reign and be an icon for generations of this new age crowd!!! [just a point of view…opinions may differ]
Great food for thought you brought in today with a fresh topic…. all the best ahead!!
Best Regarsd,
Ritika

hey…
thank you so much for the response….
i strongly believe that though, there is a change in the thinking pattern…
the basic qualities in a person will remain the same, that have been there since the ages…
undoubtedly, the medium of expression and the way of doing so will change…
but how else will we evolve if we dont do that…
after all, change is for the best…
and if today…
we have somewhere lost the sense of values…
these are the short and sweet ways..
which might lead us through the boulevard…